Dear Brothers and Sisters at Messiah,
The first month of 2023 has gone by quickly! As we get ready for February, we hope that these reminders of opportunities for worship, education, fellowship and service will be helpful.
SUNDAY WORSHIP AND CLASS SCHEDULE:
Our schedule of worship, Sunday School and Bible Class continues, with the Divine Service at 8:30 and 11:00 am, and Sunday School and Bible Class at 9:45 am. 11:00 am services are scheduled to be livestreamed at
Our website www.messiahgr.org
Our Facebook page www.facebook.com/messiahgr.
Bulletins formatted for use with our livestream are available for downloading and/or printing at home. These are posted on the Wednesday before each service at www.messiahgr.org/worship-resources
Bible Class is also livestreamed at www.messiahgr.org/adult-bible-class.
WHAT'S UP, WHAT'S COMING:
(Details in our weekly announcements and in the February newsletter)
LifeLight: 1st & 2nd Peter continues on Tuesdays at 10:30 am.
CARES (Caring, Active, Reaching, Encouraging Sisters in Christ) continues on Wednesdays at 9:30 am, focusing on the book Chosen: A Study of Esther by Donna Snow.
Our monthly Lutheran Confessions Study continues on Thursday, February 2nd. On that 40th day after Christmas, we'll celebrate the festival of The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord, with Divine Service at 10:00 am immediately followed by the study.
Our biweekly Bowling League continues on Sunday, February 5th and 19th at 3:00 pm at Northfield Lanes. Contact Joanne Gillette for more details.
Our Parish Services Guild's next monthly meeting is set for Thursday, February 9th, starting with social time at 12:30 pm.
NEW! Lutherans in Fellowship Together's next event is serving for families staying at Butterworth Hospital's Renucci Hospitality House on Friday, February 10th. Contact Dave and Tammy Ahrens for details.
NEW! Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22nd.
Lenten Midweek services (Divine Service on Ash Wednesday, Matins & Vespers thereafter), will be held Wednesdays at 11:00 am & 7 pm from February 22nd through March 29th.
The Board of Elders will hold a Fish Fry on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall.
NEW! Our annual Spiritual Growth Seminar is set for Saturday, March 25th. The focus of this year's Seminar is Prayer. The Rev. Dr. Paul Grime, Dean of Spiritual Formation and the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne Indiana, will be our guest speaker. His keynote sessions will focus on the theme, "Is God Listening?". More information coming soon ...
FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
Our February 2023 newsletter is now available online! Click here to preview or download it in its entirety. A reminder that:
Paper copies of the newsletter are available for members and guests at the Welcome Center. We also continue to mail the newsletter to homebound members. If you want to continue receiving the newsletter, please contact the church office to make arrangements.
We also post the newsletter (including monthly calendars) online at www.messiahgr.org/news; calendars are also online separately at www.messiahgr.org/calendar.
LOOKING AHEAD (from Pastor's February newsletter article):
"How much of what we say, do, think, and desire would change if the concept that we were purchased by God was central to our worldview? For Mary, the purification ritual that she went through was a reminder that God had purchased and won her from the devil by means of the blood that would be shed by her son. So it was for every descendent of Abraham living under the Levitical code."
"But we do not live under that code anymore. All those signs have been fulfilled in Christ. Instead, you have a different reminder, the reminder of the Holy Cross. This is why I encourage you to make the sign of the Holy Cross upon yourself every day, as a reminder that you have been purchased and won by God. For it was upon a wooden cross that God paid for your salvation. It was by the blood of God that you have been redeemed."
Yours in Christ,
Rick Krueger, Parish Assistant
